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How to kill a werewolf

There is no safe way to dispose of the werewolf, a resilient and very harmful monster. Unlike vampires, they are not generally thought to be harmed by religious artifacts such as crucifixes and holy water.

In some cases, the werewolf is portrayed as being invincible and nearly indestructible, with decapitation of its head and removal of its heart as the only surefire way to kill one.

In the old Hollywood version of the myth, a werewolf can be killed with a silver bullet, and is allergic to the herb wolf's bane. More modern films have werewolves being killed by various silver objects.

To tell the truth, since there is little opportunity when a werewolf is really vulnerable in its animal form, werewolf hunters have learned over the centuries to wait until the creature has shifted back to its human shape. If you have no choice but to face a real angry werewolf, try the following recipes.

Ablation of heart or the brain

A werewolf might be killed by any wound that destroys the heart or the brain, decapitation of its head and removal of its heart, or any form of death that causes brain or heart damage (such as hanging or other oxygen-deprivation methods).

Silver bullets

It is said that shooting using silver bullets is very effective in killing werewolves. Silver is a metal has long been considered to have mystical properties. The Greeks, Romans, Sumerians, Babylonians, Egyptians, Aztecs, Norse, Native American and just about every other ancient society used silver to build artifacts, coins, talismans, and jewelry ascribed with different powers and significance.

Even if its efficacy has often been traced to pagan belief in the power of certain metals to ward off evil spirits (among Irish folk, iron is used to ward off evil fairies), the role of silver in werewolf mythology seems to appear after the rise of the catholic church.

The claim that the Beast of Gévaudan, an 18th century wolf or wolf-like creature, was shot by a silver bullet appears to have been introduced by novelists retelling the story from 1935 onwards and not in earlier versions.

In modern literature and movies, its influence ranges from zero to being the only thing that can injure or kill a were.

Other Apotropaic

Alchemists often thought of mercury as the first matter from which all metals were formed. Mercury bullets have recently appeared in the rasenal of modern were hunters.

In many countries, rye and mistletoe were considered effective safeguards against werewolf attacks.

Mountain ash is also considered effective, with one Belgian superstition stating that no house was safe unless under the shade of a mountain ash. In some legends, werewolves have an aversion to wolfsbane.